In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river or slough, consisting of a bed and banks. See Stream bed. Physical geography or physiogeography is a subfield of geography that focuses on the systematic study of patterns and processes within the hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere. ... The Murray River in Australia. ... The term slough (In the UK, pronounced to rhyme with cow; In the US, pronounced slew) has several meanings related to wetland or aquatic features that seem to derive from local experience. ... The bed of this stream is made up of rocks, some very rounded (having had a longer life in the stream) and some not. ...

A channel is also the natural or man-made deeper course through a reef, bar, bay, or any shallow body of water. It is especially used as a Nautical term to mean the dredged and marked (See: Buoy) lane of safe travel which a cognizant governmental entity guarantees to have a minimum depth across its specified minimum width to all vessels transiting a body of water. The term not only includes the deep-dredged ship-navigable parts of a river leading to port facilities, but also those lesser channels leading to boat port-facilities such as marinas. A reef surrounding an islet. ... Sand bars in the Mississippi River at Arkansas and Mississippi A bar is a linear shoaling landform feature within a body of water. ... In geography, a bay or gulf is a collection of water that is surrounded by land on three sides. ... A list of nautical terms; some remain current, many date from the 17th-19th century. ... A sea lion on navigational buoy #14 in San Diego Harbor A buoy is a floating device that can have various purposes, which determine whether the buoy is anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift: The word is derived from the Dutch boei. In North American English it is pronounced as... Vessel can refer to any of the following: Objects Vessel (French vaissel, from a rare Latin vascellum, diminuitive of vas, vase, or urn), a word of somewhat wide application for many objects, the meaning common to them being capacity to hold or contain something. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A river or canal is Navigatable if the water is deep and wide enough, and not flowing too fast. ... Seaport, a painting by Claude Lorrain, 1638 The Port of Wellington at night. ... Some boats in a harbor in Miami Beach, Florida A boat is a watercraft, usually smaller than most ships. ... Seaport, a painting by Claude Lorrain, 1638 The Port of Wellington at night. ... A small marina at Brixham, Devon, England A marina is a small to medium-sized harbor used by mostly private, recreational yachts. ...

• Which government entitity is responsible for maintaining which regions of a navigation path to ports may vary, as does what agency actually performs the work to maintain it in navigable condition despite storms and sea-states. In the United States, channels frequented by ships are generally maintained by the United States Department of the Interior, and monitored and policed by the United States Coast Guard, despite such a channel may lead well inland to such ports like Saint Louis hundreds or thousands of miles inland. Lesser channels are maintained by the various states, or local governments. See also: Ship canal.

In a larger nautical context, as a geographical place name, the term channel is another word for strait, which is defined as a relatively narrow body of water that connects two larger bodies of water. In this nautical context, the terms strait, channel, sound, and passage are synonymous and usually interchangeable. For example, in an archipelago, the water between islands is typically called a channel or passage. The English Channel is the strait between England and France. Italian ship-rigged vessel Amerigo Vespucci in New York Harbor, 1976 A ship is a large, sea-going watercraft, sometimes with multiple decks. ... The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is a Cabinet department of the United States government that manages and conserves most federally-owned land. ... Coast Guard shield The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a military branch of the United States involved in maritime law, mariner assistance and search and rescue, among other duties of any coast guard. ... Seaport, a painting by Claude Lorrain, 1638 The Port of Wellington at night. ... The name Saint Louis has several referents: Catholic Saints King Saint Louis IX of France; Saint Louis, bishop of Toulouse in France Locations Saint Louis, Missouri St. ... A ship canal is a canal especially constructed to carry ocean-going ships, as opposed to barges. ... Simplified diagram A strait is a narrow channel of water that connects two larger bodies of water, and thus lies between two land masses. ... This article is in need of attention. ... An archipelago is a landform which consists of a chain or cluster of islands. ... Satellite view of the English Channel The English Channel (French: La Manche, IPA: , the sleeve), also for some time known in England as the British Sea, is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001...